Factors affecting bacterial
growth
Growth of bacteria is affected by many factors such as
nutrition concentration and other environmental factors.
Some of the important factors affecting bacterial growth are:
1. Nutrition concentration
2. Temperature
3. pH
4. Available water
5. Light
6. Osmotic pressure
1. Nutrient concentration:
1. If culture media is rich in growth promoting substance, growth of bacteria
occurs faster. Decrease in nutrient concentration decreases the growth
rate.
2. The relationship between substrate concentration (nutrition) and growth
rate is shown in figure
Figure: nutrient vs growth rate
3. With increase in concentration nutrition, growth rate of bacteria increases
up to certain level and then growth rate remains constant irrespective of
nutrition addition.
2. Temperature:
• It is the most important factor that determines all living organisms’
growth, multiplication, and death rates. A particular microorganism will
exhibit a range of temperatures over which it can grow, defined by three
cardinal points in the same manner as pH.
• A. Minimum Temperature: It is the lowest temperature required for
growth.
• B. Maximum Temperature: It is the highest temperature required for
growth
• C. Optimum temperature: It is the temperature at which rapid growth in
a short period occurs.
• The relationship between temperature and growth rate is shown in figure
below.
Figure: temperature vs growth rate
Based on their temperature relationships, bacteria may
be divided into three main groups.
• 1. PSYCHROPHILES : These are the bacteria that can grow at 0 °C or
lower though they grow best at higher temperatures. The term
psychrophile is now restricted by many microbiologists to organisms that
can grow at 0 °C but have an optimum temperature of 15 °C or lower and
a maximum temperature of 20 °C -30 °C.
Example: oscillatoria.
• 2. MESOPHILES: These are the bacteria that can grow within a
temperature range of 25 °C to 40°C.
Example:Escherichia coli.
• 3. THERMOPHILES: These are the bacteria that grow best at the
optimum temperature of 45 °C or higher but can also grow over a range of
40°C -75°C.
Example:Thermus aquaticus.
[Link]:
The pH or hydrogen ion concentration [H+] of the growth medium of bacteria has
a profound effect on the multiplication of microorganisms. Each microbial species
has a definite pH range and depends upon this optimum pH value.
They can be classified as:
[Link]: These microorganisms have an optimum pH range in
between 1-6.5 and grow at an optimum pH well below neutrality.
Example: Ferroplasma.
ii. Neutrophiles: Most bacteria fall in this category and grow best in the
pH range between 6.5-7.5.
Example: [Link], lactobacillus acidophillus.
iii. Alkalophiles:These bacteria have an optimum pH range between 7.5-
14.
Example:Thermococcus alcaliphilus.
[Link]:
Water is the solvent in which the molecules of life are dissolved, and the
availability of water is, therefore, a critical factor that affects bacteria growth
as 80% of the bacterial cell consists of water. The availability of water for a
cell depends upon its presence in the atmosphere (relative humidity) or its
presence in a solution or a substance (water activity). The water activity
(Aw) of pure H₂O is 1.0 (100% water). Water activity is affected by the
presence of solutes such as salts or sugars that are dissolved in the water.
The higher the solute concentration of a substance, the lower the water
activity and vice-versa. Bacteria live over a range of Aw from 1.0 to 0.7.
[Link]:
Bacteria (except phototrophic species) usually grow in darkness.
[Link] pressure:
• Because of the presence of cell walls, bacteria can withstand a wide range
of external osmotic pressure. The only common solute in nature that occurs
over a wide concentration range is salt (NaCI) 0.5% strength is added in
most culture media for creating a suitable environment for bacterial growth.
• Based on osmotic concentrations of substrates upon which the micro-
organisms grow, microorganisms are classified as:
i. Osmophobic:Those micro-organisms that die of dehydration if
subjected to substrates of high osmotic concentrations.
ii. Osmophilic: Those microorganisms that best grow on substrates of
high osmotic concentrations.
iii. Halophilic: Halophiles represent those microbes that preferably
grow in high osmotic concentrations produced by dissolved salts.
[Link]: These are those microbes that grow normally on
substrates of moderate osmotic concentrations but prove to be resistant to
wide osmotic changes in their substratum.
Reference:
A book of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Dr. Rohit Shankar Mane, Edition :
First,2022,
page no-(1-57).
Thank
you
